collecting memories --- cannot believe we are now in Bengaluru!

A few of the blogs I had begun about Bangkok memories have been stalled for some reason or other, mostly due to tea and dinners! Gayathri has promised to continue rambling, her own blog now; about Bangkok! In fact she is the original rambler and I adapted it as mine a while ago.

When we informed some friends that Gayathri, Mukund, Madhu and children and us were all on the same flight they said it seems G and M are making sure that you are safely there in Bengaluru and it was prophetic. Tara had some 25 kgs of goods in excess of the 60 kg finally allowed to us ( I thought we would be allowed about 25 kg each at the most!). Mukund managed it well enough to tell us that we could still have checked in another 15 kgs. Part of the reason was the rest of the group had normal luggage! While this was great news for us, we unfortunately had not dared to pack! We had already given some 10 kg Ayesha who was also on the same flt and had left 15 or so kgs to Sethu to bring whenever he could!

That is not all, Raji and Lakshmi's driver came in too early at 9 pm to receive us and apparently went off to sleep by midnight. Tara typically forgot to carry his cell number with her which Raji had called to give her. It was again Mukund who called R and L around 12pm and got the number from them and woke up the driver and we were nome by about 1.15 am.

16 June was pretty active and a lot things were achieved and is the subject of another blog soon.

collecting memories --A memorable dinner with our very special friends

We were invited for dinner at Zense, Central world yesterday, Rikhi called it a Farewell dinner and said 'I hope it will be a memorable one for you' and it was! People who read my blogs know about them. I have written about Rikhi and his work with the Lions' club and Seema has contributed to my blog by writing about Toto My dog.

We had excellant food and service and I quote from a restaurant review:

'The restaurant's four kitchens blend some of the globe's most distinctive fare, each a new treat for the palate – be it Japanese, Thai, Indian or Italian, there will be something to awaken and satisfy your taste buds. And let us not forgot the small matter of the patisserie chef, who produces some of the best pastries I have tried in Thailand'. (http://www.bangkok.com/restaurant-reviews/zense-review.html)

We agree with this review and the service provided was one of the best. Impressive considering the general standard of service in Thailand is high! I must mention this: After dinner Rikhi's friends needed a Taxi. This was arranged quickly and a girl came with us all the way down 17 floors and made sure they got on the Taxi and quietly walked away.

(This is where we were supposed to have our dinner while enjoying the panoramic view, but due to expected rains, which never came, we were seated inside the restaurant. I suppose Rikhi has to invite us again to make it more memorable! While we tried Italian and Mike and Veronica had Indian cuisine this time, we could try Indian next time!)

Rikhi was my boss at Wireforms and Seema was a director of the company. While she intended to spend more time with the company, she got busy raising a family. She did participate in the Lakshmi Pooja we performed every deepavali at the factory. While we began with an employer and employee relationship, they are our friends now and are very special for us.

It is only after I retired and they moved to Rishicourt that we were fortunate to get to know them better. There are so many things to write about, my weekly lunch with Rikhi is something I will miss a lot. Also the books he gives me to read, he reads a lot, mainly on self-improvement and motivational topics. Obviously he still has hopes for me!

Recently Seema and I started exchanging books we happen to read and like. We enjoy chatting about books and about life in general over a cup of tea. This again is something I will surely miss. While I introduced her to some Indian authors, she thinks they are too serious; I also enjoyed reading a few of the books she prefers and learnt why books written by women for women are so popular! She is also the one who encouraged me to learn swimming and arranged a teacher for me. I tell her that she should write a 'how to' book on 'bringing up a grandfather!'

Any way at the dinner we met their friends Mike and Veronica, a very engaging couple. Mike is a positive person and is full of energy and has a lot of experience in project management and plans to start a consultancy on this speciality after he retires. Both Rikhi and Mike like to play soccer and love to organise soccer games for children and that is how they met.

A few days before our dinner, Rikhi, Seema and children Shreya and Renesh joined us one evening for Masala dosas. Sweet of Shreya and Renesh to join us at a short notice. Here a few pictures of the evening for our memory collection.

collecting memories --emerald buddha in wat phra kheo

Be careful of touts working outside the palace area who tell you it is closed, and suggest their own guided tour instead.

This warning is on the website on wat phra kheo. Surprisingly I was not approached by touts the last 20 or so visits! But as Arun, Surya, Priya and I walked out of the Pier we were accosted by an old person who tried to dissuade us from visiting the grand palace as it was closed for the day. While I was inclined to believe him, luckily Surya did not believe that Grand palace would be closed and sure enough it was open.

I always enter Grand Palace with mixed feelings. While I am awe struck at the variety of structures we encounter as we enter the courtyard, I find it a challenge to take photographs at the palace. I have invariably come out feeling unhappy about the harsh light, we are there around mid day, and the milling crowd. This time was no exception and I almost tripped and fell as I tried to get some impossible angles crouching. My knees are not that flexible anymore!

While the palace still feels beautiful, I am reminded of the present day Bangkok wherein skyline is full of tall buildings which appear to choke each other! I asked Priya who is an architect, whether more space between structures would have made the grand palace grander. She said yes in agreement and I am sure the pictures would have been absolutely great, if it was so!

Surya, Priya's son titled this picture 'Wat Arun and Grand Palace'!

Emerald Buddha from a distance. Once you are in it, the shrine feels very serene.

It was not as crowded as I thought it would be.

An example where I did not bend enough to get the crown in full!

This time I did it right!

One only person seen in the picture. A rarity.

I thought I had bent my knees enough!

Well rounded trees and people!

It is likely that Priya saw a painting of a lady in the murals with same hair style as hers!

The walk through the pavilion is always a delight. I hope to read the stories depicted by the murals one day!

There you go! Another picture where I must have straightened my legs after focusing. We do that often while taking a golf swing and top the ball!

collecting memories --wat arun with arun, surya and priya

Our trip began with this idea of taking pictures of wat arun at dawn. Then it transpired that Arun, for whom this trip was planned, was not a morning person and once he invited Priya to join us ( A ploy?), I knew it had to be later than dawn. She had to see her son, Surya off to school before she could be free. I am not complaining as she and Surya who also joined us, (not her son this time!) made the trip very enjoyable. As you can see we had a lot of sun on our trip as we set off around 9 am!

The plan to take the skytrain and later a boat to get there worked very well. We were lucky as Surya knew the system well. We thus avoided traffic, saved time and had a very enjoyable boat ride.

Wat arun as seen from our boat.

Surya and the most efficient conductor I have seen on a boat. She could also speak good english.

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

A princess? Impressive crown!

With her court!

Wat arun, http://www.bangkok.com/attraction-temple/wat-arun.html is very pleasing to the eyes by the river and I still hope to catch it at sunset! It felt good to be there after a lapse of time as very pleasant memories of visiting the place with my parents, my in-laws and both my sisters and brothers in law as well as our children remain with me.

*

I noticed that there are improvements to the surroundings and the wat (Surya?) next to wat arun looked good!

*

*

*

*

*